Chapter Eleven

  New Year's Eve

  In a small room with Beijing-style lattice windows and white paper windows, bright lights and noisy voices came out - more than a dozen young men and women sitting in it were discussing loudly.

  In the midst of swirling smoke and steaming heat, the beautiful and lovely face of hostess Bai Lianjing, along with her agile and shiny black eyes, was particularly eye-catching. She stood beside the Eight Immortals table, raised a glass cup, and flashed a warm smile at each guest: "Tonight, we're all *** children gathering together. Although the Japanese robbers don't allow us to spend the New Year's Eve with our families, we'll still have a happy New Year! Hey, kids, let's drink up!"

  She was so young, yet in a house with several people older than her, she assumed the air of an elder sister, constantly addressing the guests as "kids". Originally a student at Peking University Law School from Jilin Province, after the September 18th Incident, all students from Northeast China lost contact with their families. On this New Year's Eve, she invited several fellow townspeople, classmates and friends to her apartment to celebrate the holiday. She was a passionate and lively girl who loved excitement.

  As soon as she finished speaking, a robust and ruddy-faced young man with an air of youthful enthusiasm jumped to the table, snatched the wine cup from her hand, held it high above his head, and shouted: "I protest! On this New Year's Eve, I want to loudly protest against the reactionary Kuomintang and the National Government! Chiang Kai-shek's policy of non-resistance has sacrificed the three northeastern provinces, causing thirty million innocent compatriots to become slaves in a sea of flames. I protest, loudly protesting against Nanking!"

  This young man was Xun Ning, who had recited slogans on the train when he went south with Beida. He shouted while scanning the whole room seriously with his slightly narrowed round eyes, as if looking for a reaction to his protest. Bai Lidian frowned and smiled slightly, and patted Xun Ning on the back of the head: "Xun Ning, you silly child, what are you shouting about here? Chiang Kai-shek can't hear your protest. And aren't you afraid that detectives will hear it?... Come on, friends, don't listen to him! Let's drink quickly."

  However, the master's voice fell into a vast wilderness like no one heard it. A few were indignantly discussing the reactionary and non-resistant government; some thought of their hometown with emotion and sighed softly; a 17- or 18-year-old slender female student suddenly leaned on Baili Ting's bed railing and burst into tears. This made the room even more chaotic. Baili Ting rushed to the girl's side.

  "Cui Xiu 'Yu', don't cry! Are you thinking of your mom? She died a terrible death, we must remember this hatred...". Her voice came down, "Don't cry, good child! Like us, losing our hometown, losing our father and children, the Japanese devils made many people orphans and widows. Hatred! We will all remember this hatred! I'll tell you, the Northeast Volunteer Army is fighting well, we...we will definitely be able to return home soon..." White Lipton, although more experienced, couldn't help but think of her parents and hometown under the wolf smoke, she also cried like Little Cui on the bed railing.

  The room fell silent all of a sudden.

  This night, Lin Daojing is also here.

  She lived in the same apartment as Bai Libing, who was familiar with Luo Dafang. He often came to visit Bai Libing, so Dao Jing also got to know him. After the winter break, Yu Yongze returned home for the New Year, but Dao Jing did not go with him and stayed alone in the apartment. She was invited by the hospitable Bai Libing to join them in celebrating the new year.

  In the room, apart from Bai Lian and Luo Dafang, everyone else was a stranger to her, so she sat in a corner, quietly listening to others talk. When she saw Cui Xiu and Bai Lian both crying, she couldn't help but walk over to Bai Lian's side, looking at them, wanting to say something but unable to speak. Normally, the bold and talkative Luo Dafang was now sitting by the window, head lowered, not speaking. Even Xu Ning, who had been loudly protesting earlier, had fallen silent.

  "'Every festive season, I miss my family more.' Hmm, tonight, my mom and dad are all thinking of their son! Ah, lovely Songhua River! Is your clear water still so beautiful?" A small young man wearing a worn-out suit and with a head of messy hair, apparently having drunk too much wine, broke the silence in the room with his choked voice.

  Everyone turned their attention to the young man sitting at the Eight Immortals' table, holding a wine cup. Bai Libing stopped crying, wiped her eyes, jumped beside the young man, snatched the wine cup away, and twisted his face: "Shameless! Yu Yimin, what kind of drunken nonsense are you spouting!"

  However, the female host had not yet maintained order on this side when an even more unpleasant disturbance broke out on the other side: a man wearing a gray cotton-padded jacket, with a messy long hair and an ugly donkey face, about thirty years old, said: "Alas, alas, let's not talk about national affairs! Let life be... freer! Life is like flowing water, fleeting... I can't bear it, can't bear it!"

  Alas, alas, life is but a dream, what's the point of joy? Can't bear it, can't bear it...

  This man was gloomily humming his "can't take it", others were fine, but Xu Ning and Cui Xiu Yu really couldn't take it! The two of them almost simultaneously interrupted him. Cui Xiu Yu jumped in front of him first, pointing at the tip of his nose, staring with wide eyes and saying: "Great artist Wang, how much wine have you drunk? I see that you're drunk to the point of not looking like a Chinese person anymore! What times are these? The country is broken and the family is ruined! But you, you still say such decadent and boring nonsense! I loudly tell you: Japanese bandits are about to destroy your ancestral country, please wake up from your ivory tower!"

  Xu Ning swept his hand, and with a dramatic flourish of his thick black hair, he launched into a tirade: "Wang Jianfu, please come to your senses! Do you know that the situation in Rehe is critical, and the entire North China region is on high alert? And yet, sir, you still have the nerve to prattle on about your empty and absurd theories?"

  Wang Jianfu stretched his neck, staring at Xu Ning and Xiao Cui with two drunken red eyes, sneering like a dog that had been beaten. As he looked at him, the whole room suddenly burst into a fit of loud laughter.

  After a while, people started talking again.

  "Xiao Bai, let's have a heart-to-heart talk! You shouldn't put up a 'no discussion of state affairs' sign here like in a teahouse." Yu Yimin glanced at Bai Libing, making a request of her.

  Bai Liying smiled with pursed lips: "I know that on this day, you all must have a lot of feelings. I'm not unwilling to talk, I'm afraid of stirring up your sadness...” As she spoke, her eyes became moist again, and she quickly turned her head away. After a while, she turned back and continued: “After the '9/18' incident, our lives as young people in Northeast China have been painful enough. Now that it's New Year's, we should be happy, but somehow we just can't seem to get into the mood.” She thought for a moment, "Okay, I'll tell you a joke to cheer you up. After I'm done, each of you has to tell one too! Xun Ning, don't even think about making trouble!" She winked at everyone with a gentle smile. Everyone's eyes were fixed on her.

  She said: "After '9.18', when the 800,000 workers in Shanghai organized the Anti-Japanese National Salvation Association and sent representatives to demand that the Nanjing government immediately send troops to resist Japan and issue them *** anti-Japanese [weapons], our students from Beiping coordinated with students from all over the country to petition the Kuomintang government. Well, Chiang Kai-shek came up with a clever trick at this time. He summoned the students of the Central Military Academy and gave a speech. Listen! He spoke so wonderfully!" Bai Libing liked acting in plays and would soon become a movie star. At this moment, she took on an acting pose, loudly imitating Chiang Kai-shek's southern accent. "'Now - the government is actively preparing to resist Japan. If, after three years, the lost territories cannot be recovered, China cannot be revived, then...'" She made a slashing motion with her hand across her neck and widened her eyes, "'then kill Chiang so-and-so to apologize to heaven and earth!'" She perfectly imitated Chiang Kai-shek's tone, facial expression, and beautiful, light posture, which contrasted with the laughter that filled the room. Even Wang Jianfu, who always hung his head in despair, couldn't help but laugh. Yu Yimin jumped up, holding his wine cup.

  "Who listens to his nonsense!" Xun Ning slammed the table and interrupted, "Just after Chiang Kai-shek broke wind, students from all over the country started pouring into Nanjing in a mighty torrent! The famous '125' Beijing University comrades took the lead; then Shanghai and Beiping students arrived in large numbers. They joined forces with Central University students to surround and destroy the Central Party Department; the Central Daily was also smashed to pieces. When the students reached the gate of the National Government, shouting "Oppose the *** government!", hey! The mighty national government was so scared that it closed its big iron gate tightly like a puddle of mud... This is what happened on December 17th two years ago. Do you know?" Xun Ning suddenly stretched out his fist in front of Wang Jianfu's donkey face, scaring him into quickly shrinking his head. The room erupted in another burst of laughter.

  "Little White, Little Xu, you two are having a lively conversation! Come on, it's the New Year and nothing much is happening, let me join in and say a couple of words to liven things up!" Luo Dafang's expression today was somewhat gloomy, as if something was bothering him, so he hadn't spoken until now. But once he started talking, his face immediately brightened up, and he spoke with ease and humor, like a burst dam releasing water: "Little Xu, when you went south to *** with Lu Jiachuan, you two received special treatment; Li Mengyu ran out to lead the troops in attacking the Garrison Command Headquarters; but our 185 people were tied up at Xiaolingwei, where we got a taste of being prisoners. At night, under the cold wind and rain, we slept on the icy ground, surrounded by an eerie silence like a graveyard. Our refined and elegant students, once reduced to prisoners, who could still sleep soundly? Gnashing our teeth, sighing deeply, and even bursting into poetry... You know, I, too, am quite talented, and at that time, in those dark nights, to alleviate the suffering of my fellow students, to make their cold, hungry, and sleepless nights more bearable, Old Xu and I started composing tongue-twisters. With not much effort, our masterpiece became an instant hit. On the dark ground, one side would say: 'Brothers, let's sing our Beida song again!' The other side would shout: 'One more time!' We turned the prison, turned Xiaolingwei military camp into a concert hall. Even Miss McDonald's golden throat couldn't compare to my crude tongue-twisters in popularity!"

  "Good heavens, good heavens, Old Luo Ren, what an astonishing masterpiece you've concocted! Do tell, or I'll suffocate!" Little Cui, this 'girl' child, stared with round and bright eyes, entranced. She saw that Luo Dafang was always peddling his wares, and she was so anxious she wanted to jump up and down.

  "Ha ha ha! You guys have been fooled! I'm not good at composing, and what I composed is really crude. But back then, people were so bored and frustrated that they just shouted whatever came to mind." He said this with his eyes narrowed and his head shaking, shouting in a comical yet heroic tone: "Peking University! Peking University! Fear nothing! March southward, save China! That's one part, and there's more - 'Tied up with ropes, beaten by guns, starving for two days, no big deal! Became a prisoner, still not afraid! Not afraid! Not afraid! Peking University! Peking University!"

  "Good, great! Another one!" A stranger's voice suddenly startled everyone in the house. Everyone turned their heads to look at the door: it turned out that a young man had been standing at the door listening. As soon as he appeared, those who knew him immediately cheered up: "Old Lu, Old Lu, you've finally arrived!" Bai Libing jumped forward and tightly grasped the newcomer's hand, smiling warmly at him: "Lu Jiachuan, it's been a long time since I've seen you!"

  Lin Daojing's heart moved slightly. That tall and slender figure, those intelligent and handsome eyes, that dense black hair, and that kind and dignified face, wasn't it the young man she had met briefly while teaching in Beidaihe? Although it was only a brief encounter at the time, this talented and clever person had left a deep impression on her. She would sometimes still think of him. But at this moment, Lu Jiachuan didn't recognize her, and she didn't dare to go up and greet him either.

  Lu Jia-chuan and the others had finished their greetings, found a stool to sit down, and smiled at Luo Da-fang saying: "Come on, buddy, recite your masterpiece. When you're done, I'll also contribute some great works for everyone."

  "Right! Let's start again." Luo Dafang opened his big mouth and laughed twice, then coughed twice to clear his throat before continuing. "That night, the rain got heavier and heavier, we stirred up everyone's emotions, and people gradually calmed down. At this time, in the depths of the night, the only things visible at Xiaolingwei were the faint lights of one or two unextinguished lamps in the military camp, and the sound of the sentries guarding us trudging back and forth in the mud. Suddenly our inspection team came to report: 'Report! The government has dispatched over 30 cars and over a thousand soldiers and police to force us to return to Beiping!' This thunderclap was nothing, we led all the students in shouting again!" His light tone turned heavy, although he spoke in a low voice, it was loud and powerful.

  "Don't go! Don't go! First, we must restore our freedom! You have bound us and will bind us again, you want to rise to power and wealth with the blood of the common people, but we want the happiness and freedom of our country. Freedom! Freedom! Don't go! Don't go!" Luo Dafang gesticulated, waving his fist, his face flushed red as he shouted in a low voice. The crowd was silent, not a single person laughed. A surge of hot passion stirred in every young person's heart. Everyone stared at Luo Dafang, many people's eyes were filled with tears.

  The house fell silent again.

  That donkey-faced Wang Jianfu left first. After a while, people started eating and drinking, chattering away.

  "I'll tell a joke too." Lu Jiachuan smiled and said, looking around at the people, "I recently heard this joke, which can be compared to Chiang Kai-shek's boastful talk to students at the Central Military Academy that he would recover lost territories within three years. The other day, when the situation in Rehe was tense, Soong Tse-ven flew to Chengde. As soon as he got off the plane, he gave a stirring speech to the troops defending Rehe, saying: 'You just fight! I, Tse-ven, dare to guarantee that the central government will be your backing. Wherever you fight, I'll follow; if you fight to heaven, I'll follow to heaven; if you fight into the sea, I'll follow into the sea...' But on the first day of the war in Rehe, when the enemy was still far away, this old official Soong didn't go to heaven or into the sea, but quietly flew back to Nanjing without anyone knowing."

  Strange, Lu Jia-chuan's joke didn't bring about the same laughter as Bai Li-tian's, instead people looked at each other in stunned silence, as if an old wound had been reopened and painful memories recalled. After a while, Xiao Cui finally spoke up in a low voice: "It's all over! Once Rehe is finished, North China will soon follow..."

  Xu Ning couldn't help it, he shook his fist and pulled at Cui Xiu's 'jade' hem, asking Lu Jia-chuan: "Brother Lu, please tell us about the current situation! Ever since things got tense, I...I can't even focus on my classes!"

  "Yes, Old Lu, tell us!" Xiao Cui and Bai Libing looked at Lu Jia-chuan simultaneously.

  "No, I don't know much more than you guys." Lu Jia Chuan shook his head and smiled.

  "Old Lu, let's talk. Everyone wants you to, so go ahead." Luo Dafang looked at Lu Jia-chuan with a warm and familiar gaze, nodding his head slightly.

  As she watched everyone else show a respectful and admiring expression towards Lu Jiaxiang, Lin Daoting couldn't help but pay more attention to him. She wanted to get close to him and greet him, but she was also a bit shy. Everyone in the room knew more than her, and they were all different from the people she had met before. They all had an upward passion and a sense of responsibility to love their country and its people. In this new environment, she felt ashamed and only stayed in a dark corner, not daring to speak a word.

  "The current situation is indeed very 'outraging'! Lu Jiachuan looked around at the people and said in a low voice, "It's unbearable for every Chinese with a conscience. Since the 'January 28th Incident', the government has been shouting slogans of 'resisting on one front and negotiating on the other', but in reality, it's still non-resistance. Recently, Shanhaiguan was fought for less than five days, and He Zhuguo, who was stationed there, was ordered to withdraw; Rehe was fought for seven days, and Chengde also fell. Now the Japanese bandits are preparing to attack the various passes of the Great Wall." Lu Jiachuan took out his handkerchief to wipe away the sweat on his forehead, he was no longer as calm as before, with a tone full of indignation and agitation, he continued to speak, "At this critical moment of life and death for the Chinese nation, Chiang Kai-shek says that our enemy is not the Japanese bandits but the '***'. Tens of millions of Chinese troops do not fight against Japan, but instead encircle and annihilate the Red Army and patriotic youth even more brutally... However, the Red Army led by Mao Zedong and Zhu De has smashed Chiang Kai-shek's personally commanded encirclement and annihilation campaign, achieving a great victory..."

  "'I'd rather give it to a foreign country than to our domestic slaves!' Xu Ning's furious voice cut off Lu Jiaquan's words, clenching his fists and shouting, 'Hey, do you know? This is their "Repel the external enemy first, then pacify the internal"!'"

  In the room, a dozen or so young people started discussing excitedly. Only Lin Daojing remained seated in the corner, silent and still. She listened carefully to their conversation. These words, somehow, seemed like sweet rain falling on parched crops, and her empty, suffocating heart immediately absorbed them. A kind of passion she had never felt before began to stir within her. She yearned to blend in with these people, wanting to join the crowd and chat with them. But due to habit - she was used to being alone, coupled with self-respect, so she remained unnoticed, sitting silently behind everyone without uttering a word.

  "Brother Lu," Xun Ning suddenly shouted at Lu Jiaquan again, "Brother Lu, what do you say we should do? Where is our way out?"

  A group of young people, including Lin Daojing, listened to Xu Ning's words and stared at Lu Jiachuan without blinking, as if their future depended on him.

  One by one, their faces showed irrepressible gloom and anxiety.

  Look at the young people in this house who are full of hope for him, and also glance at Lin Daojing, then use a low voice to say softly: "Do you want to find a way out? Yes, we are all looking for a way out - the whole China is also looking for a way out. So, where is the way out? I think the way out is in resistance, the way out is in struggle, and the way out is also in combining our personal destiny with the destiny of the country and the people. What way out can semi-feudal and semi-colonial Chinese intellectuals have? Today, we first demand liberation for the Chinese nation, and then there will be a way out and liberation for us personally..."

  "To find a way out for an individual, first find a way out for the nation... Right!" Xu Ning waved his fist and nodded.

  "Yes, it is!" Cui Xiuyue looked at Xu Ning and said softly.

  "But I'm still depressed..." someone muttered.

  The people in the house began to discuss it again in a flurry of debate.

  Young people were discussing, Luo Dafang suddenly jumped to the edge of the table, hit the table and said: "Hey, everyone! I say, just studying theory is not enough, now let's discuss how to do some practical work!" Then people surrounded Luo Dafang again and talked enthusiastically. At this time, Lu Jiachuan stood up and quietly walked to Lin Daojing's side, stretched out his hand: "Still recognize? Lin Daojing!"

  Dào Jìng quickly stood up and grasped Lú Jiāchuān's hand. His face involuntarily turned red: "We've met... I saw you at Beidaihe..."

  "Arrived in Beiping? How long has it been since you left Yangzhuang?" Lu Jiaxiang's tone was warm and natural, like an old friend who hadn't seen each other for many years.

  "It's been over a year. How are you? Are you still at Beida?" Dao Jing smiled, she had a kind of close feeling towards Lu JiaChuan, like an old friend.

  Before Lu Jia-chuan could respond, Bai Li-ping turned around and saw the two of them talking. She walked over and interjected: "You two have known each other for a long time? Hmm, I didn't expect that."

  "We met over a year ago. And it was at a very important time, in a wonderful place." Lu Jia-chuan said with a playful tone, recalling the past scene, "That day, Lin Dao-jing was arguing with my elder sister's husband, really interesting. Hey, why aren't you teaching there anymore? What are you doing now?"

  Dào Jìng's face suddenly turned red to the roots of her ears. How could she tell him that she was no longer teaching, that she had become Yú Yǒngzé's lover, and that she couldn't do anything anymore? No, this couldn't be said out loud. She could only blush and look at Lú Jiāchuān with a silly smile.

  "You asked about her situation? She has a stumbling block that has tripped her up tight!"

  Bai Libing saw Dao Jing's predicament, made a ghostly face at Lu Jia Chuan and smiled, saying, "Xiao Lin is indeed a good girl, a lovely good girl, it's just that her old husband has tied up her 'legs'."

  "Xiao Bai, Xiao Bai, come here!" Someone in the crowd was shouting for Xiao Bai. Bái Lì Píng smiled at the two of them: "You two old friends, go ahead and talk!" Then she went into the crowd.

  Lu Jia-chuan and Lin Tao-jing really started talking, and they talked for a long time.